Dev Blog #007 - Advertising

Wow, what a month. It's been busy here at Asylum as usual, so let's get down to the interesting stuff!

As expected, our current focus is on the Town Square so that we can get it out to you as soon as possible. We're finalising the interior of the library and art gallery (shared within one building) and adding polish to the environment. Once the clothing store interior is complete following that, the Town Square environment is ready to go. We'll continuously be adding more art after release though; specifically for house furnishings, decorations and clothing.

In addition to the environment art, Miroslav (character artist) has been creating all sorts of hair assets which allow us to show hair appropriately when wearing a hat or helmet. This is a big task for him as it means making variations to match the hat options for each length of hair, but in the end it'll ensure your hair always looks as you'd expect when wearing headgear.

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Hair under a hat; work in progress

Right next to the clothing shop you'll find a bicycle store where you can get a sneak preview of some of the bikes you'll be able to ride around in the full Identity release. We showed you a bicycle work in progress last blog post and now you can see the finished result of that below. This image will give you a rough idea of the detail level you'll see in Identity's vehicles.

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Ridable bicycle

With more final systems coming online for the Town Square release, we now have functioning phones. Each player will start with a cellphone, although you'll be able to upgrade it with three mobile OS options available. The phone OS' each have a unique and interesting style. Characters also have a designated phone number assigned when they're created; you'll be able to get a custom number for a fee. These phones work just as you'd expect. You're able to dial up another player and speak with voice remotely. Businesses can even get a business line which, when called, will contact a member of that corporation who's online.

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Shot from an internal system test: advertising

While the art of the billboard above isn't final, it gives you a very good idea of what you can expect in Identity for advertising. That's right, you can really publish messages around the world through billboards and other means.

Corporations and those running for government office can purchase billboard space to help get their message out. You'll select a graphical template from a large list of options and then attach a brief message or other customization to make it your own. These billboards can also be moderated by the server operators.

There are other similar advertising systems, too. For example digital road signs can be made to show custom messages by the current government.

We can't wait to show you more of Identity, and we'll soon have that opportunity with the release of an overhauled website. Those current pledge packages are about to go away forever, and some of the rewards won't be available for purchase again after the new website changes.

Also, follow us onour Twitch channelif you'd like to stop in and ask questions of the developers. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you'll find a few developers playing a random game from 4pm EST to 5pm EST. Ask any questions and they'll be happy to answer on stream. Catch some of Identity's developers hard at work and see how they make the magic happen: we'll be providing development streaming dates and times on Twitter, soon!